FOOTBALL FRIDAY: WEEK 9!!

HUGE games tonight as the calendar turns to November. The final stretch to playoff football is here!!

The Game of The Week is the Atlee Raiders celebrating Senior Night, at 7-1, facing the 7-1 Highland Springs Springers.  Atlee has won five straight, the Springers, seven straight. Both teams are currently tied for third place in Class 5A South Central Zone playoff standings, with the winner possibly able to leapfrog #2 seed Douglas Freeman (who face 3-5 Thomas Jefferson of 3A East) in the playoff standings with a week to go.

An Atlee win, coupled with a win at Lee-Davis next Friday could clinch two home games in the first two rounds of the playoffs November 15th and 22nd.  But a Raider loss tonight could drop them to 4th, even as far as 5th by the end of the regular season, depending on the work of the Hermitage Panthers. Hermitage is arguably, after the last two unbeatens in the area, LC Bird and Dinwiddie, the hottest team in the Central Region, and would be a very tough draw in the opening round of the 5A South Central playoffs.

Lee-Davis, at 4-4 after their 40-35 win at Hanover, go home for their final two games, first tonight against Armstrong. The Wildcats may be 2-6, but they are capable of scoring a lot of points, and are just one spot out of a playoff berth in Class 3A East. Armstrong will come in desperate and will give Lee-Davis their best shot, and cannot be overlooked with a visit from Atlee on the horizon next week.

Hanover, also at 4-4, and currently 12th in Class 4A South playoff standings (16 make the postseason) must rebound from their loss by hosting Varina, who, at 7-1, are looking to clinch home-field for the Class 6A South Central Zone. The Blue Devils are currently the #1 seed.  To ensure a playoff berth, the Hawks should win either tonight or next week at Glen Allen. A 4-6 final record may, or may not, give them enough VHSL rider points to advance. A Glen Allen victory over Henrico tonight, coupled with, for example, a Varina win over Hanover, could create a game next week where the Jaguars and Hawks, who would both be 4-5, could be playing for a postseason berth.  It also depends on results from several other games involving 4A schools not just in our area, but in the Eastern Region as well.

Patrick Henry has won two straight, and tonight travels to Deep Run for the Camouflage Bowl, the 11th edition. The Wildcats won their first game of 2013 last Saturday at Thomas Jefferson as PH won their 2nd straight Saturday at John Marshall, 48-14.

REMINDER: Follow us on Twitter, @hanoversports, for REAL-TIME score updates all evening!  If YOU are at the Varina/Hanover, L-D/Armstrong, or PH/Deep Run games, tweet us your score reports using hashtag "#GOTW"!!